CHICAGO - They have a guy in Patrick Kane growing one of the best mullets the NHL has seen in decades. They have a forward in Kris Versteeg who, before reinventing himself as a key member on one of the best checking lines in the playoffs, was just as known for singing Fergie songs on demand.

They bond on the road by playing Mario Kart video game tournaments at the hotel, perhaps the secret to their success away from the United Center.

So yeah, when San Jose Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray used the word mature to describe the Chicago Blackhawks, it did seem a little bit surprising. This group of Blackhawks has been described a lot of ways — talented, fast, entertaining, confident ...

But mature?

"The one thing that maybe you might give them more credit for than you maybe did before, they're playing very mature for being a young team," Murray said. "Just patience in games and staying within their game plan."

They grow up so fast, don't they?

But Murray is absolutely correct. On the ice, the Blackhawks have found a level of maturity that only comes with playoff experience. The team threatening to sweep the talented Sharks on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC) isn't the same one that started the playoffs and struggled to get by the Nashville Predators. That was a group emerging from a post-Olympic slump that threatened to crack the very confidence that makes these young Blackhawks so successful.

Video   Kane says ‘whole team’ contributing for ’Hawks May 22, 2010: Chicago's Patrick Kane talks about how key the contributions from the Blackhawks' role players have been throughout the 2010 playoffs.

"After the Olympic break, going through that period, we were having a tough time winning, no consistency in our game," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said on Saturday. "Maybe all of a sudden some doubt crept in our mind, of how good can we be?"

Well, now we know.

The Blackhawks have eliminated the inconsistencies that plagued them early on in the playoffs. Jonathan Toews admitted that they relied on their superior talent, at times, to win in the regular season.

That's not how it works in the playoffs. The Blackhawks have figured it out.

As this postseason has progressed, each Blackhawks player has carved out his roles to perfection. Every time one of them jumps over the boards, he knows exactly what is expected of them. It means Dustin Byfuglien has emerged as one of the best postseason players at creating traffic in front of the net. And scoring when he has the chance.

Video   'Hawks talk about critical Game 3 victory May 22, 2010: Chicago rode strong goaltending and playmaking to a 3-0 series lead over San Jose.

The checking line of Versteeg, Dave Bolland and Andrew Ladd has been so effective that Todd McLellan spent most of Game 3 shuffling his lines to avoid it. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are the shutdown pair but the shot-blocking of fellow defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson has been just as valuable. Toews has been a point-producing machine and Kane, well, he's been Kane.

Those lapses of disinterest and ineffective play are gone, and in turn the Blackhawks have become the most dominant team left in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"We've all seemed to identify our own roles quite a bit more. We've really seen what each guy can do to help the team work and be successful," Toews said. "We all understand those little things we can do as individuals. We've all kind of embraced that and really gotten better and better at it."

Slideshow   2010 Stanley Cup finals Check out images from the Blackhawks' victory over Flyers and rest of the postseason. NBCSports.com

That's all any coach can ask — improvement from round to round during the playoffs. The Blackhawks are certainly following that arc with the finals tantalizingly close.

And what should scare San Jose now and Philadelphia or Montreal later, is this: The improvement can continue.

At some point, Marian Hossa will score goals. Brian Campbell, whose return from injury started Chicago's playoff success, is playing too well to be stuck on three assists. And goalie Antti Niemi seems to improve as the stakes increase.

"Talking in the room, we all feel that we can still be better and still bring our game to another level," Keith said. "I think all good teams have that mentality. That's what we have."

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